There’s a lot going on.
Jamie Fraser has been captured by Captain Leonard in Jamaica on charges of sedition and murder (and jaywalking?). Thanks to the very timely, clever and
powerful intervention of Lord John Grey, Jamie is set free
to go after Caire who is still searching for Young Ian
Murray who you may recall was kidnapped by PIRATES!
Yes, pirates.
Young Ian is currently in the clutches of Geillis Duncan, the only person other than Claire who is a time traveler from the 20th century. Geillis is super off her rocker. A fanatic Scottish separatist who sought to change history and restore Scotland’s independence, she is now looking down another track, to put a Scottish king on the throne of Great Britain.
Geillis is working with a prophecy that a Scottish king will ascend the throne upon the death of a 200 year old child.
Which puts Claire’s daughter Brianna in Geillis’s crosshairs. Bri was conceived in 1746 but was born in 1948 after Claire travelled in time back to the future before the battle of Culloden Moor.
Meanwhile, we discover there is another portal in Jamaica like the one in Scotland to travel in time which Geillis intends to use to get back to the 20th century to kill Brianna.
Which isn’t good news for Young Ian. Geillis is still convinced a blood sacrifice is needed to activate the portal. Which it isn’t. Claire’s made the trip three times without having to kill someone.
Claire is major league pissed at Geillis who is threatening to kill bother her nephew and her daughter. Claire attacks Geillis with a blade used for harvesting sugar cane in Jamaica and nearly takes Geillis’ head clean off.
And if that sounds familiar, think back to earlier this season when in 1968. Claire’s friend Dr. Ben Abernathy shows her a skeleton that was discovered in a cave in Jamaica, a skeleton belonging to a white woman whose head had nearly been cut clean off.
Yes, that's right: In 1968, Claire examined the skull of the woman she would kill several months later and 200 years in the past.
Time travel can be so weird.
With Young Ian rescued, Jamie and Claire are back on the Artemis heading for Scotland.
But a hurricane has other plans and deposits Claire and Jamie on the shores of the colony of Georgia.
Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Fraser of Scotland are now in America.
And so season 3 ends.
I’m hoping there will be opportunities to catch up on season 1 and the 1st half of season 2 that I missed during the “droughtlander” before Season 4.
While I haven’t read the books by Diana Galbadon, there are some things I’m aware of to expect. Claire and Jamie are going to set up house in North Carolina (which is where I live in my Fortress of Ineptitude so that’ll be cool) and there will be some time travel when Brianna and Roger come to pay a visit.
It’s almost possible to forget the time travel element in Outlander, we become so immersed in the world of the 1760s. The conversation between Claire and Geillis about Claire’s trip back to 1948, for example, is almost jarring in this context.
Maybe it’s the male sci-fi geek in me that wishes more was done with the time travel element. Like Claire and Jamie go in the portal in Jamaica, arrive in the 20th century, hop a flight to Scotland and then go back to the 18th century via the stones. You know, fun stuff like that.
Jamie in the 20th century? That would be wild. Unless
it’s been established somewhere that the portals only work
for certain people?
The presence of two portals suggests there may be more and now I want to know more about why they exist and exactly how they work.
But it’s clear that in Outlander, time travel is just a device to bring Claire and Jamie together and the real story is the story of the two them together. Time travel is virtually a Maguffin, there to drive the story, not be the story.
After watched the season finale of Outlander, my wife Andrea and I made time to watch the premiere of season 2 of The Crown.
Yes, The Crown is on Netflix which means all the episodes of season two are available to be watched but Andrea and I are not big on binge watching TV shows. We did push through season 2 of Stranger Things in less than a week but we were anxious to avoid spoilers. As a student of history, I’m less concerned about spoilers* from The Crown so Andrea and I are more disposed to watch this series at a more civilized pace.
*Queen Elizabeth falls into a time portal and gets impregnated by a Scottish highlander 200 year in the past?! Damn! I did not see that coming!
Besides, The Crown is not an easy show to binge. Each episode is fraught with intense emotional drama as Elizabeth copes with weight of power and responsibility that comes with her royal authority. Her position as Queen weighs heavily on everything from her role in government to her personal life. After an hour or two in the royal court, one needs to lighten up a bit.
It is the Queen’s personal life that has taken a hit as episode one of the 2nd season of The Crown begins.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip are in a tense standoff over his conduct outside the palace. Rumors have piled up with the force and ferocity of truth which isn’t helped that a lot of those rumors are true. Divorce is mentioned but dismissed. Divorce is simply not an option for the Queen of England.
The next scene gives us a helpful graphic: Five Months Earlier.
At the end of season one, Elizabeth decided it might do a restless Phillip some good to go off on a 5 month tour of the Commonwealth. At the time, Phillip was resistant to the idea but now, he’s decided to lean into it. If he has to g on this trip, might as well have some fun. In the days before he is scheduled to depart, Phillip and Elizabeth seem to be happy in each other’s company. But Elizabeth makes a discovery that suggests Phillip’s attentions are not solely on his wife and Queen. As such, the farewell Phillip receives from Elizabeth is far from warm or tender when he embarks on his journey.
Meanwhile, Egypt has taken over the Suez Canal. The current Prime Minister is itching for a fight with Egypt’s leader even though the general consensus is that military action yields more risks than rewards. Queen Elizabeth is very concerned to see that there are secret efforts afoot to instigate military action. (The term “collusion” gets mentioned.)
The hour ends with a Queen disturbed by the actions of men, both of her husband and in her government. And for her role as Queen, she has precious few options to deal with any of them.
OK, I need a drink. Give Andrea and I a couple of days and we’ll see where episode two might take us.**
**Prince Phillips discovers a blue box that travels in space AND time and goes off on adventures?? Wow! Another shocking turn of event.
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